Povitica

This past week I've noticed a lot of hoopla about this intriguing bread called "povitica." I wanted to see for myself what all the buzz was about so I decided to give it a try. Apparently it is the "daring bakers challenge" this month. I've also never heard of the daring baker but I thought, Hey! I want to be a daring baker! I love a good challenge. And this bread is just that =). It may actually be more time consuming than a challenge. It was a wonderful bread though, therefore worth the time and effort. It was reminiscent of a cinnamon roll or sticky bun with much more of a nutty flavor. It also brought memories of my first taste of Baklava. It was tender and delicious! I did make a few of my own changes to the recipe to suit my own personal taste. I added more cinnamon and cocoa, and I replaced half the granulated sugar with light-brown sugar. I also replaced the coffee topping with an egg wash. Go ahead be a daring baker and try this recipe out for yourself! Follow this link for the recipe.

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Pumpkin Pie French Toast with Caramel Syrup

Do you ever get tired of that same old basic french toast? If you are looking to add something exciting and full of flavor this is a recipe you need to try! This french toast has all the flavors of pumpkin pie, the pumpkin, the spice and even the graham cracker crust. It even has a bonus, caramel syrup! I tried a pumpkin pie with dulce de leche once and fell in love! I love the pumpkin and caramel combination, it's indulgent! Give these a try and they are likely to become your new favorite fall breakfast entree!

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Yields 8 slices

Ingredients:

8 slices day old french bread, sliced about 1" thick

10 graham cracker sheets, crushed*

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp light-brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ginger

1/3 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree

1 recipe caramel syrup, for serving

1/2 cup chopped pecans, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour crushed graham crackers into a low flat bowl, for dipping, set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together milk, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and pumpkin puree. Butter skillet. Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides. Dip coated bread into crushed graham crackers and flip and coat opposite side. Place coated bread onto buttered skillet and cook until golden on both sides (about 3 minutes per side). Serve warm with caramel syrup and optional pecans.

*For a healthier option that is also delicious, crush 2 cups corn flakes in place of graham crackers.

Caramel Syrup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light-brown sugar

1/4 cup +2 Tbsp buttermilk

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, buttermilk, and whipping cream. Bring to a boil, and boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator.

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Pumpkin Cake Truffles

Doesn't chocolate just make life great? I love, absolutely LOVE, chocolate! I also love pumpkin cupcakes, so it's time to combine the two! So here it is, the Pumpkin Cake Truffle! A moist pumpkin cake, combined with spiced cream cheese frosting, dipped in rich decadent chocolate and sprinkled with assorted flavorful toppings! All that love in one bite size piece of joy! These are wonderful for gift giving, party favors or an IOMe (I owe me =). They make for a great festive treat with Halloween just around the corner. Keep in mind the recipe makes about 85 truffles, so if you don't have a need for that many feel free to cut the recipe in half. I got a two for one out of this by using the cake recipe to make two different recipes. I made the full cake recipe, poured half into a 9" round cake dish (for the Pumpkin Cake Truffles) and poured the other half into 24 muffin cups (to make Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting). Who doesn't love a two for one =)? Happy Halloween everyone! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake Truffles

Yields 85 truffles

1 recipe pumpkin cupcakes

1 1/4 cups spiced cream cheese frosting

2 1/2 lbs chocolate of your choice (milk, semi-sweet, white, or butterscotch chips)

Assorted toppings: chopped pecans, crushed oreos, toffee bits, crumbled graham cracker pie crust, crushed butterfingers, or sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pumpkin cupcake mixture according to directions. Pour cake mixture into 2 buttered and floured 9" round baking pans. Bake in preheated oven 35 - 40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool and "ripen" about 3 hours or overnight.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper, set aside. Crumble cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. Stir in 1 1/4 cups spiced cream cheese frosting. Mix until you no longer see streaks of frosting. Dampen hands with water and form cake mixture into balls, 1 even tbsp at a time. Place cake balls on parchment lined baking dish and allow to chill in refrigerator or freezer until firm.

Melt chocolate in a heat proof mixing boil over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove about 8 firm cake balls from the fridge at a time. Dip cake balls into melted chocolate and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle cake truffles with assorted toppings before the chocolate cools and hardens. Refrigerate until firm. Store in refrigerator.

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

So, do I have you drooling yet? Simply put, these are by far the best fall cupcake! I keep seeing all these pumpkin cupcake recipes popping up everywhere but they all seem to be just about the same, slightly lacking something. Don't get me wrong I do love the traditional pumpkin cream cheese cupcake but I think it's time to fancy things up a bit. Hence, I developed this ultimate fall cupcake: the light fluffy moist pumpkin cupcake, smothered in thick chocolate ganache, piped with creamy spiced cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with crunchy pecans. There you have it! Falls best cupcake! Please do not attempt to throw in a different cupcake recipe in place of this one! It is so light and delicate, so if you were to use one of those heavy dense pumpkin cupcakes in it's place things just wouldn't be the same. If you are looking to impress friends, colleagues, a loved one, your grandma =), and even yourself please make these cupcakes! You will not be disappointed! I fell in love with just one bite! They will leave you speechless!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Yields 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 3/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 recipe Thick Chocolate Ganache, recipe follows

1 recipe Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350degrees. In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, combine vegetable oil, applesauce, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and stir until combine. Stir in pumpkin puree and buttermilk and stir until well combine. Slowly add dry ingredients. Stir until no longer lumpy about 1 - 2 minutes. Pour about 1/4 cup mixture into buttered muffin cups or paper lined muffin cups and bake 20 - 23 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let muffins cool 5 minutes in muffin tin. Remove to a wire rack and let cool 30 minutes.

Thick Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Place chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring whipping cream just to a boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and whisk until smooth. Spoon 1 tsp ganache over each cooled cupcake and spread near edges, allow to cool. Meanwhile make spiced cream cheese frosting.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whip together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and whip until smooth and fluffy. Pipe cream cheese frosting over cooled chocolate ganache covered cupcakes and sprinkle cupcakes with chopped pecans.

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